Lovely Ruse | La Tour Eiffel Hoax

November 3, 2009

E adores the occasional ruse, especially the sort that involves a beloved international monument and accidentally implicates a few unknowing news media outlets. A stunt of this magnitude was recently set into motion by Serero Architects when, on a lark, they submitted a proposal to the Societe d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel, suggesting an elegant temporary addition to tower’s highest observation platform. Gullible news outlets, the Guardian, New York Times and Architect Magazine celebrated Serero’s proposal as the winner of a fictitious competition sponsored by the Societe, and then spread the news of a temporary addition to the adored Tour Eiffel worldwide. Below are the lovely little culprits of the international hoax.